Infomercial King Kevin Trudeau's Possessions To Be Auctioned
CHICAGO (STMW) -- Even in prison, convicted fraudster and TV pitchman Kevin Trudeau has something to sell.
A grand piano; a copy of Catherine the Great's favorite 72-candle chandelier; hundreds of Swarovski crystals; a sauna; a cigar humidor; gilt-framed portraits of Gen. George S. Patton and Winston Churchill; even copies of his discredited best-selling book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You To Know About."
Those items are just a handful of the gaudy curiosities a Chicago judge ordered to be auctioned off from Trudeau's former California vacation home this weekend.
In a recent Facebook post, Trudeau — locked up at the Metropolitan Correctional Center for civil contempt of court, and awaiting sentencing for criminal contempt — called the possessions due to go under the hammer in Ojai, Calif., "priceless."
"All have my energy infused in them," the silver-tongued promoter of quackish treatments claimed. "They are all like amulets."
But Michelle Munyon, whose family business is handling the estate sale, put a more earthly value on the contents of Trudeau's second home: about $100,000.
Any money raised will go towards the unpaid $38 million fine U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman imposed on Trudeau in 2007 for making false claims about his wacky diet books. Trudeau, 51, says he is broke and can't pay the fine, but federal officials caught him driving a Bentley and getting his hair cut at Vidal Sassoon, so Gettleman last year jailed him.
Proceeds of the estate sale — and a yet-to-be scheduled sale of items from Trudeau's Oak Brook mansion — will eventually be shared between customers who bought Trudeau's diet book.
Among the items on offer starting Friday are a signed and personalized Rush Limbaugh poster, and a $17,000 pool table and cues linked to Trudeau's failed International Pool Tour.
Munyon said die-hard fans of Trudeau's conspiracy theories are among those expected to bid.
One fan already stumped up $50 for a photo of Trudeau's pampered pet dog, Princess, she said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2014. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)